Kurds in front-line cities flee - and hope

Kurds say that residents forced out of the city have an unimpeachable right to return, and that they expect their brethren in Kirkuk to rise up against the Iraqi government.

Kurdish leaders say they are worried about the possibility of people killing Iraqi officials and Arabs out of a desire for vengeance. They are also concerned about the potential for unrest between different ethnic groups - such as Kurds and Turkmens - that have clashed in the past.

The two main Kurdish political groups, the PUK and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, may vie immediately for dominance in the city. "They want to have their own people in Kirkuk," says Shwan Ahmed, a journalist and author in Sulaymaniyah.

But for the moment, Kurds mainly want to encourage US action against Hussein, not pose complexities. Despite concerns about revenge killing, says Gen. Simko Dizaye, deputy commander of the PUK pesh merga, there is little that the PUK can do beyond stopping the return of refugees who seem bent on violence, and broadcasting appeals for calm.

"Practically," General Dizaye says, "we can't do anything because we are not going to those two cities," referring to Kirkuk and Mosul, another major urban center in northern Iraq.

Looking ahead, Kurds want the Americans on board for the long haul. "We need the American military forever, not just for one year," says the senior member of the PUK. "If we want to build a democratic system, we cannot withstand the pressure of Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia if there is no American presence inside Iraq."

The US has disappointed Kurds in the past, but many are saying that this time the Americans will come through.

"The US is the first country to say 'we will save Iraq,' " says Mr. Khader, the rice seller. "Maybe the US has interests in Iraq, but that's useful for us."

He has only one complaint about Bush's speech: granting the Iraqi leader and his sons 48 hours in which to leave the country. "We wanted to give him only 24 hours - as soon as possible," Khader says.

Kurds have suffered under Hussein - mass killings, large-scale deportations, economic strangulation - so it is no surprise many are fleeing areas close to the lines demarcating Iraqi government control. One of Khader's neighbors, Osman Wali, spent Tuesday morning preparing his battered proto-SUV for the drive to his village.

The vehicle was stuffed with blankets, lanterns, and cookware. Mr. Wali topped off the water in the radiator. "We're afraid of the Iraqi regime, of chemical weapons," he says. "The Iraqis have no mercy."

Many of Chamchamal's residents have already fled. Much of the town's bazaar is shuttered, its streets nearly deserted.

"Maybe we will not be safe," he says, "but we are very pleased with Bush's speech about Iraq." Wali, dressed in the characteristic turban, cummerbund, and baggy pants of Kurdish men, accepts the possibility of additional sacrifice. "Even if half of the people of Chamchamal are killed, it will be OK if we can save the whole of Iraq."

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